These garments cost, but consider the
slow design, slow production concept,
and if it helps, AC offers sewing programs and sewing DIY kits that allow
customers to learn to think and sew the
AC way at home. I want to be in class
the week they teach how to make the
Donovan Coat.

Brave Gentle Man offers pants and
suit jackets with that pedigreed wool
look. I found a seriously powerful tweed
blazer during my hunt. But rather than
wool, the material is milled in Brazil
out of 100 percent recycled cotton and
polyester, and fully lined in something
called future silk, made from recycled plastic bottles. (There is so much
packed into the idea of future silk, but
I have to let it go for now.) The fabrics
are cut and sewn in New York City, and
I love the fabric of the blue-black blazer
so much that I’m considering whether
I could carry the look myself—if I got
a man size small enough. But more to
my point, vegan does not mean we have
to feel limited. We can turn to Vaute,
which was the first vegan label to show
at New York Fashion Week. Creator
Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart and her company received the Rising Label vote of
confidence from Vogue, and convinced
Oprah that the label “proves animal-free fashion can be cute, chic, and
sexy.” I’m stuck on Vaute for a different
reason. They offer puffy coats that look
city professional.

I shouldn’t make vegan couture
sound too easy. In some seasons, it
can be. For example, plant-based fibers
work very well in summer. Bamboo
(aka cellulose) sandals can be summer
arbitrary or shallow.

It may help your effort to be vegan if
you whiteboard fashion’s raw materials.
To do this, write “Raw Materials” at the
top of the board. Now, under the heading, divide the board in into two classes, not Natural and Manmade, as you’d
expect, but Natural and Super Natural.
You’ll see why. On the Natural side of
the Raw Materials chart, there are only
two options: plants and animals. From
plants, we get textile fibers. For example, we spin cotton into fibers that we
knit or weave. From animals, we get
textile fibers and hides. We spin wool.
We tan leather. That is it. Plants and
animals. Write this down.

Switching over to the Super Natural side, the big category options are
just as limited. Again, there are only
two options, either cellulose or synthetic polymers. Cellulose comes from
tough plant exteriors like tree bark. It
is natural in its raw state, but requires
a mutation if we want to wear it, like
going from cardboard to rayon (
literally). Synthetic polymers come from oil
(not olive, but petrol), and arrive at the
manufacturing plant as pellets. The pellets are heated up into a liquid goo that
is then extruded through tiny holes,
like Play-Doh through the Play-Doh
Fun Factory. Out of the press comes
synthetic fibers that are woven into the
material for gym pants and polyester
shirts.

It is amazing, actually, to think thatour closets can be broken out into fourbasic options: plants, animals, bark,and oil. (I had a friend who once madea vest out of soda pop pull tabs, but inlife there are always exceptions.) Somefabrics, like satin, are made by blend-ing animal-based natural fibers and syn-thetic super natural fibers. This meansour closets and store shelves are full ofhybrids, too, but if we at least get thefour basics down, we can feel more con-fident trying to read labels.

To be vegan-worthy, cross out one of
the four options. The production fabric cannot contain fiber or hide from
an animal source. Oil is okay. The linen from flax is fine. But no aspect of
garment production can involve the
exploitation of animals, and any animal
involvement is considered exploitative
because animals cannot sign consent
decrees or authorization forms. No
matter how wide afield they can travel on a range, animals have zero free
choice in whether to work for us, so
the philosophy goes. If we share these
concerns to any extent and we want to
dress in a vegan frame of mind, how do
we start?

I recommend starting with a concept
expressed by Alabama Chanin. Alabama Chenin holds itself out as a leader
in slow design, a counter to fast fashion
practice that, regardless of raw material
class, can be tough on the environment.
Buy clothes that will last, clothes that
you love, clothes you can share. To do
this, begin by believing that vegan can
be beautiful. The designs at Alabama
Chanin offer stunning examples of how
we can reconsider plant-based textiles
more than T-shirt fodder. The clothes
are made of 100 percent organic cotton that is embroidered or appliqued or
otherwise adorned by hand, by artisans.